Kenyan Vice President Requests ICC Trial Adjournment

Lawyers for Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto have asked the International Criminal Court to adjourn his trial so he can return home to deal with the deadly militant attack on a Nairobi shopping mall.

Lawyers made the request in a filing submitted on Sunday evening. In the filing, lawyers say the deputy leader is needed to at home to deal with security briefings and consultations.

Ruto is currently in The Hague where he facing charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly orchestrating ethnic violence after Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election. Both he and his co-defendant radio executive Joshua Sang, have pleaded not guilty.

At least 59 people were killed and dozens injured during an attack by Islamist militants on a Nairobi shopping mall Saturday. Kenyan troops remain in a standoff with the assailants.